New Delhi: Stressing upon the importance of reducing and mitigating disaster risk, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Thursday said the government is sensitive to disaster management and active at all levels.
The minister was speaking at the conclusion of a four-day joint exercise on urban earthquake search and rescue of the member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) here.
All the member countries of SCO -- China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan participated in this exercise while Mongolia participated as an observer.
Addressing the participants, Mr Rai said, “The government is sensitive to disaster management and is active at all levels. The subject of disaster management is close to the heart of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he has continually emphasized on the importance of reducing and mitigating disaster risk not only at the national but also at the global level.”
Appreciating the active participation of the SCO nations in the exercise, the Minister said that organizing such exercises would boost the process, standardization and strengthen the response efficiency.
During the exercise held from November 4-7, participants from SCO member countries shared preparations, coordination during disaster and internationally recognized procedures during joint search and rescue exercises in a large urban earthquake environment.
As part of the next phase of this exercise, a meeting of experts from the ministries responsible for the prevention and liquidation of the emergency is being organized on Friday.
